Investigation of The Effect of Gas Pressure on AZ31 Mg Powder Production by Gas Atomization Method

In this study, the effect of gas pressure on the shape and size of the AZ31Mg alloy powder produced by the gas atomization method is investigated experimentally. Experiments were carried out at a constant temperature of 790 °C, with a diameter of 2 mm and by applying 4 different gas pressures (5, 15, 25 and 35 bar). The atomization of the melt is carried out with argon gas. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the shape of the AZ31 Mg powder produced, XRD and XRF analyzes were used to determine the phases generated in the internal structures of the powders produced and percentage of these phases, and laser measurement device was used for powder size analysis. The general appearance of the AZ31 Mg alloy powders produced is in the form of ligaments, rods, droplet, flakes and spherical, and the shape of the powders has mostly changed to flake and spherical depending on the increase of the gas pressure. It was determined that the finest powder obtained was at a temperature of 790 °C, a gas pressure of 35 bar at a diameter of 2 mm, and that the overall powder was droplet and spherical